The Magnetic Fields at Symphony Space

Stephin Merritt

Born in Baden-Baden, Germany, a young Stephin Merritt moved with his mother throughout the northeastern United States until they settled in Boston, Massachusetts. As a youth, he began spelling his name differently for different purposes; "Stephin," the pseudonym he used to sort his junk mail, subsequently became the spelling he used as a musician. At age 14, he made his first recordings with a cheap synthesizer and an old four-track recorder, a low-fi electronic sound he adapted when he conceived the Magnetic Fields in 1989. Initially, the Magnetic Fields (named after the novel Les Champs Magnétiques) was a solo project, with Merritt playing all the instruments himself, until he began recruiting musicians in the 1990s. The present core of the Magnetic Fields consists of Merritt (guitar, ukulele, keyboards, harmonium, melodica, lead vocals), Claudia Gonson (piano, drums, percussion, vocals), Sam Davol (cello, flute), John Woo (banjo, guitar), and Shirley Simms (autoharp, ukulele, vocals). The band's 11th and most recent studio album, 2017's 50 Song Memoir, contained 50 songs, one to commemorate each year of Merritt's life.

The Magnetic Fields' two-hour performance at Symphony Space tonight was the third of a four-date Merritt residency (two performances by the Magnetic Fields plus one each by two of his other projects, the Gothic Archies and Future Bible Heroes). For this occasion, the core band was expanded with Future Bible Heroes' Chris Ewen (synthesizers, piano), Pinky Weitzman (viola, Stroh violin), and Gothic Archies' Daniel Handler (accordion). Thirteen of the 31 songs were drawn from the Magnetic Fields' best-known work, the three-volume concept album 69 Love Songs, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. The set also included songs from other albums, four as-yet-unrecorded songs making their live debut, and a cover of the Left Banke's "Walk Away, Renee." The music frequently shifted styles, from cabaret to indie-punk and country music, often spiked with quirky arrangements. Humorous or ironic lyrics mixed with melancholy and bittersweet sentiments, during which Merritt's unrefined baritone was its richest and most heart-warming; Gonson and Simms also sang lead. Threads of a unique worldview weaved together as if the performance were the soundtrack to an off-Broadway musical. A Magnetic Fields concert is an atypical musical project, effectively eccentric yet completely compelling.

Setlist:

1. With Whom to Dance?
2. Too Drunk to Dream
3. Reno Dakota
4. Born on a Train
5. Roses
6. I've Got a Date with Jesus (Live debut)
7. Andrew in Drag
8. '71 I Think I'll Make Another World
9. The Nun's Litany
10. Asleep and Dreaming
11. I Think I Need a New Heart
12. '96 I'm Sad!
13. Do You Have a Favorite Bar? (Live debut)
14. The Horrible Party
15. Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring
16. My Stupid Boyfriend (Live debut)
17. The Night You Can't Remember
18. '02 Be True to Your Bar
19. Josephine
20. Bathroom Quickie (Live debut)
21. Walk Away Renee (The Left Banke cover)
22. Zebra
23. Busby Berkeley Dreams
24. No One Will Ever Love You
25. Grand Canyon
26. '14 I Wish I Had Pictures
27. Epitaph for My Heart
28. I Wish I Had an Evil Twin

Encore:

1. Untitled on acoustic guitar
2. Papa Was a Rodeo
3. All My Little Words